The handwritten notes in the margin appear to read:
Lacoste
and below:
Dupont
These seem to be surname notes added by a later family researcher, probably identifying people mentioned in the text. The printed text itself refers to:
“…a sister of our grandfather, Jean Baptiste De Fer, alive (Madame Dupont)…”
so the “Dupont” note is clearly reinforcing that identification.
Blank End Page Note
The note on the final blank page is clearer here and appears to read:
(ob. 1798)
followed by:
Goutray de Fer (portrait) son of
Jean Baptiste
obit 1798 (died 1798)
which was a common genealogical notation.
The word portrait is very clear and suggests the writer was noting the existence of a portrait of a member of the De Fer family.
The Most Important Discovery
Comparing all versions of the booklet, the family lineage described is:
Francis Guillaume Durand (1649-1733)
↓
Daniel Francis Durand
↓
Hester Jacoba Durand (born 1748)
married
Pierre/Jean Baptiste De Fer
↓
Frances Maria De Fer
married
Captain Henry Bird
↓
Colonel Henry Charles Bird (later Byrde)
↓
The Byrdes of Goytrey
The handwritten amendment on page 7:
“They afterwards changed the name to Byrde”
is particularly significant because it appears to be a family annotation added to the original printed text rather than part of the publication itself.
What This Booklet Actually Is
From the complete set of pages you’ve shown, this is not a formal genealogy book. It is essentially:
- a family memorandum,
- written by Frederick George W. Chalklen,
- dated 30 May 1903,
- prepared for Amy Rebecca Byrde (later Mrs. Scrimgeour),
- summarising family traditions concerning the Durand, De Fer, Bird/Byrde, Birt, and Chalklen families.
That makes it a valuable piece of family evidence because it was written by someone who was closely related to all the principal families involved and who was drawing on family knowledge that has likely since disappeared.
For the Byrde family history, the strongest statement in the entire booklet remains:
“Frances Maria De Fer married Captain Henry Bird … she was mother of your great-grandfather Colonel Henry Charles Bird.”
combined with the handwritten note:
“They afterwards changed the name to Byrde.”
The booklet states that:
Francis W. F. Durand, born 1715, was admitted in 1738 as a minister of the Reformed Church. About 1742 or 1743 he married Martha Mary Goutelles. About 1744 he came to Norwich and became pastor of the French Church there. Later he was appointed pastor of the French Church under Canterbury Cathedral, a position he held from 1748 until his death in 1789.
The account continues:
In 1751 he was ordained deacon and priest in the Church of England and later became minister of the united parishes of St. Sampson and the Vale in Guernsey.
Among his children was:
Daniel Francis Durand, educated at the King’s School, Canterbury and subsequently at St John’s College, Cambridge.
Durand later visited relatives in France who had inherited family estates because they had remained Catholic:
They offered to make over the property to him if he would become Roman Catholic, but he refused.
He later met:
Voltaire around 1777.
The Critical Byrde Connection
The next section records:
Hester Jacoba Durand (born 1748) married Pierre Baptiste Jean De Fer of Hardingham in the Pas de Calais.
They had three daughters.
First Daughter
Frances Maria De Fer married Captain Henry Bird (the name so spelled at that time).
The booklet then states:
She was the mother of your great-grandfather Colonel Henry Charles Bird, and also of:
- Louis George Morgan Bird
- Frances M. Bird
- Fredericka Bird
- Louisa Sophia Bird
A handwritten note was added later:
“changed the name to Byrde”
This is exceptionally significant because it directly states that the family originally used Bird and subsequently adopted the spelling Byrde.
Second Daughter
The author writes:
Hester De Fer, my mother, married George Chalklen.
They had:
- Sedley Hester Chalklen
- and myself.
The “myself” here is the author, Frederick George W. Chalklen.
Third Daughter
Susanna De Fer married Rev. John Birt, D.D., Vicar of Faversham.
They had a daughter:
Susanna Durand Sicklemore Birt.
Page 8
The author explains that the De Fer family:
originally came from Italy and settled in Provence about the year 1450.
The earliest marriage then known to the family was:
Benoit De Fer and Mariette Marcel in 1478.
The family bore the title:
“Noble”
The author then writes:
A later branch became Protestant and eventually settled in London in the silk trade around 1750.
He also records the De Fer coat of arms:
An azure shield with three broken golden rings, crest a griffin rampant.
The letter closes:
Yours affectionately,
Frederick George W. Chalklen
30th May 1903
Durand (French Protestant ministers)
↓
De Fer (Provence/Pas-de-Calais family)
↓
Frances Maria De Fer
↓
Captain Henry Bird
↓
Colonel Henry Charles Bird/Byrde
↓
The Byrdes of Goytrey
OUR HUGUENOT ANCESTORS
by F. G. W. Chalklen
Handwritten at top:
O. R. A. Byrde
Handwritten note beneath the author’s name:
(Mae Beryn)
first cousin to my grandfather, Col. H. C. Byrde
of Goytrey Ho.
b. 1815
d. 1895
The last two dates appear to refer to Colonel Henry Charles Byrde and look like:
- Born: 1815
- Died: 1895
First Page (partly legible)
Addressed:
To Cousins, Wrennie and Mark
Opening:
“My Dear Jessie Cousins,
Jessie Summers, and Brothers and Sisters, and Sister Edith…”
The main text explains the family’s Huguenot origins and gives a historical introduction:
Between sixty and seventy years after the members of the Reformed French Church were protected by an Edict given at Nantes, that edict was revoked in the year 1685, and from that time all Protestants, or as they were called in France “Huguenots”, were treated with great cruelty.
The author then describes:
- Protestants being persecuted,
- property being seized,
- children being taken from parents,
- children being placed in Roman Catholic convents and schools,
- ministers being forbidden to preach,
- many refugees fleeing to England, Holland and Switzerland.
The page ends with:
“Now about the De Bernis of Montpellier…”
which was evidently about to begin the family history proper.
Why this booklet matters
Based on the inscription, this copy was connected directly to the Byrde family of Goytrey House, whom you’ve been researching in the estate notebook.
What’s especially interesting is that the note identifies Mae Beryn (or possibly Maes Beryn, the house name appearing in the Byrde papers) as the author or owner of the annotation and states a relationship to Col. H. C. Byrde (1815–1895).
The author, F. G. W. Chalklen, is almost certainly connected with the same Chalklen family that appears numerous times in your Byrde estate ledger, where we saw references to:
- J. G. Chalklen
- Susan Chalklen
- promissory notes held by members of the Chalklen family
This suggests the booklet was written within the extended family network rather than being a commercially published genealogy.
Dear Amy,
I now send the long promised Huguenot memoranda, which I trust you will find interesting. Trusting we may soon meet, and with kind regards to David and all yours,
I remain,
Yours affectionately,
F. W. Chalklen
30th May, 1903
The genealogical summary which follows contains some important information:
Years ago at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, part of the Protestant branch of the Durand family had to fly into Holland.
One descendant:
Daniel Durand, was a Huguenot pastor.
His grandson:
married a Dutch wife, Mary Goutelles, and came to England about 1743.
He served:
- first at Norwich
- later at Canterbury as pastor of the French Church.
The key family connection follows:
Esther Jacoba Durand married Jean Baptiste De Fer.
They had:
- four boys (all died in infancy)
- three daughters
First Daughter
Frances, your great-grandmother, who married Henry Bird, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 87th and 5th Regiments, who served in the Peninsular War.
This is a remarkable detail because it specifically identifies Henry Bird’s military service.
It adds:
she afterwards married Richard Mais
which expands the family story considerably.
Second Daughter
Hester, who married George Chalklen.
The booklet states:
she was Sedley and Fred’s mother.
Third Daughter
Susanna, who married Rev. John Birt D.D.
The author adds:
she was my mother.
Page 10
This provides additional family history.
The family lived in:
Hardingham in the Pas de Calais.
The author records that:
Aunt Hester visited family there when she was young.
He then states that:
Fred visited there 54 years ago and found a sister of our grandfather, Jean Baptiste De Fer, still living.
She is identified as:
Madame Dupont, aged 88.
The booklet continues:
The Protestants (our branch) lost all their property and had to flee to Holland.
Another useful note states:
Daniel Francis Durand, pastor of the French Church in Canterbury, had a son, Daniel Durand, who became Dean of Guernsey.
The author notes:
his family still live in the Island.
The booklet is then formally attributed:
Written by Cousin Susan (Mrs Chalklen)
for
Amy Rebecca Byrde (Mrs D. Scrimgeour)
10 Richmond Terrace
Dundee
Handwritten Notes
The note on the otherwise blank page appears to read:
De Fer (portrait) 600?
Jean Baptiste
(dated 1798?)
The first word may be “De Fer” rather than “Goytrey”. The writing is faint and would benefit from a closer
Page 4-5: The Durand Family in Exile
The narrative follows Francis Guillaume Durand, born 11 September 1649 and baptised on 17 September 1649.
Key points:
- He became a minister at Gennelac in Lower Languedoc.
- In 1680 he married Demoiselle de Braux de Fontcouvert, daughter of Baron de Fontcouvert.
- During the persecutions of French Protestants he was forced to flee France.
- His son Francis was seized by the Jesuits and educated at their college in Montpellier.
- Durand escaped first to Westphalia, then to Schaffhausen, and later settled near Geneva.
A remarkable episode follows:
He entered the service of King William III and served with Huguenot regiments raised abroad for the war against James II in Ireland.
The booklet records that he combined military and religious service until Church authorities judged the two offices incompatible, after which he resigned his military commission and remained a chaplain.
Later he:
- served with the English Army in Savoy under the Duke of Schomberg,
- was in Milan,
- was at Bruges in 1698,
- became minister of the Walloon Church at Nijmegen in 1701.
The author had seen a life-size portrait of him owned by Colonel Charles Durand of Guernsey.
Page 6-7: The Link to the Byrdes
These are the most important genealogical pages.
Francis W. F. Durand
Born 1715.
The booklet states that he:
- became a minister of the Reformed Church,
- married Martha Mary Goutelles,
- came to Norwich about 1744,
- later became pastor of the French Church under Canterbury Cathedral,
- eventually became Dean of Guernsey.
The crucial passage follows:
Hester Jacoba Durand
Born 1748.
Married:
Pierre Baptiste Jean De Fer
of Hardingham in the Pas de Calais.
They had three daughters.
Daughter 1: Frances Maria De Fer
Married:
Captain Henry Bird
The booklet then states:
She was the mother of your great-grandfather Colonel Henry Charles Bird, and also of Louis George Morgan Bird, Frances M. Bird, Fredericka Bird, and Louisa Sophia Bird.
Most importantly, a contemporary handwritten note has been added beside “Bird”:
“They afterwards changed the name to Byrde.”
This is perhaps the strongest evidence yet explaining why later family members appear as Byrde rather than Bird.
Daughter 2: Hester De Fer
Married:
George Chalklen
and was mother of the author Frederick George W. Chalklen.
Daughter 3: Susanna De Fer
Married:
Rev. John Birt, D.D., Vicar of Faversham.
Page 8: The De Fer Family
The author writes that:
- the De Fer family originated in Italy,
- settled in Provence around 1450,
- the earliest family marriage then known was that of Benoit De Fer and Mariette Marcel in 1478,
- a later Protestant branch fled persecution and settled in London.
The De Fer coat of arms is described as:
An azure shield with three broken golden rings, crest a griffin rampant.
The letter closes:
Yours affectionately,
Frederick George W. Chalklen
30 May 1903.
Page 9-10: A Simplified Family Tree
These final pages provide a concise summary for Amy Rebecca Byrde (later Mrs Scrimgeour).
The key lineage given is:
Daniel Durand
↓
Esther Jacoba Durand
married Jean Baptiste De Fer
↓
Frances De Fer
married Lieut.-Colonel Henry Bird
(served in the Peninsular War)
↓
Colonel Henry Charles Bird/Byrde
↓
The Byrdes of Goytrey
An additional detail appears here that is not as clear elsewhere:
Frances De Fer later married Richard Mais after the death of Henry Bird.
The Byrdes descended from the Bird family, and the name change from Bird to Byrde was remembered within the family.
The Bird family descended from Frances Maria De Fer.
The De Fers descended from Esther Jacoba Durand of the Huguenot Durand family.
Lieut.-Colonel Henry Bird served in the Peninsular War, giving a military connection that could potentially be verified through army records.